Fuse Festival comes to a close

The 11th annual Fuse Festival has come to a close today (February 29), after three days of live music and conferences held across the South Australian capital of Adelaide.

The event attracted a 300-strong industry delegation and speakers from around the globe. Fuse – which is part of the cultural Adelaide Fringe Festival – peaked with the Ignition showcase event last night (February 28), when around 60 of Australasia’s best new talents playing on stages across the city.

On Wednesday night, six bands also performed as part of the Explode showcase, with the winners – local indie rockers City Riots – invited to attend The Great Escape festival in Brighton, which this year takes place from May 15 to 17.

Despite the success of the Fuse Festival, organiser Alistair Cranney told NME.COM Australian bands still feel the effects of isolation when it comes to the world market – even with the explosion of online sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

“We’re at a distinct disadvantage in Australia [because] we’re so far from the rest of the world – it costs so much to get somewhere,” Cranney said. “So, if you’re living in London you can hop over to Europe to develop your market in France or you can pop to Germany quite easily. For us it’s still a big expense.”